Entourage: Let's Blog It Out

The fifth season of "Entourage" is officially over, and the winter will feel colder as we wait for the sixth season next summer.

In the meantime, it's now Joshie Award season!

The Joshies celebrate excellence in "Entourage" each season. And the "Let's Blog It Out" offices spent Monday night in the judges' circle watching and nominating scenes and characters in 12 different categories. We even incorporated your suggestions this time around for the third annual Joshies.

Below you will find all the nominees. At the bottom of all 12 categories listed is a link to the voting booth. The polls will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2. Then, on Thursday, Dec. 4, we'll announce the Season 5 Joshie Award winners.

We'll start with the two new categories for this season, then continue with the original 10 Joshie Award categories.

Continue reading "The Season 5 Joshie Award nominees" »

At the spot. Drinkin' with the boys. Seeing the family. Rolling with old neighborhood friends at old neighborhood hangouts as if no time had passed.

Oh the joys of coming home again.

The Season 5 finale of "Entourage" nailed that sentiment, and at the perfect time of year. I've always been a huge proponent of the parallels between when a show airs for the first time and the actual time of year it is.

The first four seasons of "Entourage" aired during the summer and it completely enhanced the show's carefree, live-life-to-the-max attitude. When Season 5 was delayed because of the writer's strike, I wondered how that would affect the way we subliminally compute this season in our brains.

Continue reading "There's no place like home" »

It took all of 0.8 seconds to know this episode wasn't going down in Hollywood. Hello, "Me Myself and I" by De La Soul. A Long Island-based rap group from the late '80s/early '90s. Another strong soundtrack choice by the producers (and I think that just might be the start of a new category for Season 6).

With that, it's time to channel my "thinking like a New Yorker" bias that I just claimed didn't exist a few minutes ago.

Does anyone else want to see more episodes shot in New York? Not a full season or anything like that because that would change the dynamic of the show, but maybe three or four episodes in Season 6?

I didn't care when Barry Bonds took the cream and the clear, and I wouldn't care if "Entourage" did the same thing here. There's such a different energy in New York than Los Angeles, and the Season 5 finale proved that. The photography of this episode felt different, too, but again, I'm a lifelong Long Islander and New Yorker, so I'm probably completely biased on this.

But filming a few episodes in New York City could reinvigorate "Entourage" among those who may not have enjoyed this season's overall story arc. Of course, we think those viewers are crazy, but five seasons is five seasons, and with the way people consume television these days, no show is above minor tweaking and storyline expansion.

Still, I'd love to see Johnny Drama have a meltdown in his own bar and then storm off into the streets of Queens. I'd like to see Turtle ride the subway. I'd like to see Vince play a plastic bucket drum with a street musician. Maybe E ordering a coffee and danish from a breakfast truck on the street? And can you imagine Ari Gold being approached by a bum on the street? Hello, future Joshie Award for Best Scene!

Despite the star power that is/was Vincent Chase, "Entourage" really centers around E. He's the true lead of the show, at least conceptually, even though the ensemble cast makes "Entourage" what it is.

Thus, we'd be shocked if Vincent Chase ever took home the Big Knish for the most Best Printable Lines in a season. But every now and again, the writers throw him a bone. As do we.

Vince smoked the competition and scored the BPL in the Season 5 finale. Sitting on the stoop talking to Ari after being harassed by his mother (how many New York natives can relate to Mercedes Ruehl's performance as Mrs. Chase?), Vince drops this bomb:

"My mom's all over me. She's treating me like she usually treats Johnny."

Great line. Of course, Ari locked up this season's Big Knish last week, his second straight and third overall. Watch for the Big Knish ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/12: Best Printable Line" »

This episode had nothing to do with Ari Gold. These things happen.

But when you commit to the Ari Gold Mine during the first episode of the season, you still have to find the AGM. Such is life when chronicling our favorite TV show.

Seeing Ari in Queens was awesome. He made it even awesomer (not a word) by delivering Martin Scorsese on the phone, flashing that smug "Look how I awesome I am" grin and then calling E "a little McNugget."

Ari the Savior is occasionally more fun than Ari the Slayer. Occasionally.

I was tempted to give every New York City scene and reference Writer Props this week. But then I'd be guilty of that East Coast media bias people love to talk about. And I'd be found guilty of an even greater charge of "thinking like a New Yorker."

But once the phone sex scene between Turtle Sal and Jamie-Lynn Sigler arrived, I put all that aside. Turtle using his mother's land line to talk naughty with his girl Jamie-Lynn and getting caught doing is exactly why we love "Entourage."

Well played, Mr. Ellin. Well played.
Victory

Turtle deleting all logs

Just a quick programming note to those who read me right after "Entourage" ends Sunday night (yes, haters, there are quite a few who do that).

My flight from Nashville doesn"t land until after midnight, so get a good night's rest on Sunday, then hit the blog hard Monday morning.

I know, I know, how can the world's pre-eminent "Entourage" blogger skip town for the season finale, especially when they finally come home to New York?

Well, when your boy -- in this case, Lawyer friend Steve -- drops a buddy pass on you at 2 p.m. Friday, it's hello Nashville, hello Jets, goodbye undefeated Titans.

Don't get too mad, though. Remember how quickly Turtle Sal ran to the airport when his boy Vince needed him? And he was chillin' with gorgeous Jamie-Lynn Sigler at the time.

Plus, remember this season"s slogan: "Entourage. Live it."

This is as close to that as I can possibly get on my salary.

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Just in time for the Season 5 finale and the third installment of the Joshie Awards. Sweet!

The group is called Blackcowboy. The song is called "Come On." The chick in the video is Gisele. And the director is Kevin Connolly. Watch and see.

Blackcowboy Video "Come On"

OK, folks, it's Joshie Award nominee season.

In the past, I've "studied" all the season's episodes and come up with the categories and nominees for the Joshies, which honor excellence in "Entourage."

I will do the same again for Season 5, but in the interest of character/plot development, I'm opening up the nominee suggestion box to readers.

Below you will find the Joshie categories for Season 5. If you don't know what the Joshies Awards are, you better ask somebody. Feel free to use the comments here to suggest scenes for each category worthy of Joshie consideration. Heck, you can even suggest new categories.

No guarantees, of course, but my hunch is you might be able to sway the academy.

As for the voting schedule, it goes like this: We'll post all the nominees on Tuesday, Nov. 25. The polls will be open for one week, closing at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 2. Then, on Thursday, Dec. 4, the Joshies will be unveiled to the world.

Fire away!

Best Best Printable Line

Best Johnny Drama Moment

Best Random Hot Chick

Best Storyline

Best Location

Best Guest Star

Best Character You Want to See More of

Best Comeback

Best Overall Performance

Best Ari Gold Moment

Best Scene

Best Episode

Relive past Joshie Awards

No doubt this episode will be in the running for Best Episode when the Joshie Award nominees are announced next week.

Continue reading "Entourage 5/11: Best episode so far" »